A Shadow Of Myself

So it's day one... Or more accurately the 20th day one since I started. I consider myself pretty determined. Pretty determined to be really good or really bad. Either way I excel at both. In the summer of 2012 I was pretty good at drinking beer and even better at eating excessively, bad foods. It was all my fault... I can make excuses but I was enjoying myself. It was the London Olympics and I had fun. What was not fun was trying to fit into my winter clothes post summer gorge!! Where had my marathon legs gone? How can you roller coaster from training to run 26.2 miles to near collapsing after 3. So I had a word with myself.

My friend Clarissa had mentioned clean eating and the Ashy Bines eating plan. A new way of eating... Not a diet?! Don't they all say that?

I knew a little of nutrition from reading running magazines... How to assist muscle recovery and boost your energy levels pre run. I considered myself quite serious. But this was the start of something new.

Clean eating. I have never learnt so much or wanted to learn so much about something in my life. I suppose I became quite obsessed and quite enjoyed getting my soap box out, telling everyone they should pay more attention to what they put into their mouths. Quoting from website lectures and sending inspirational 'before and afters' to friends and families. If they can do it... Why can't we?

I took my before picture and set off on my 12 week clean eating project. I enjoyed it. A lot!! Researching daily anything I didn't understand. Had a little cry after week four when nothing seemed to be happening and blamed that one drink of wine I had at the weekend. Then all of a sudden my body caught up with itself. I lost steadily and healthily. I started paying more attention to what I was doing in the gym. The infamous 30 day shred by jillian Michaels, commencing my sadistic love affair with hiit training. It all starts somewhere, i could run for miles but couldnt even push out one good press up. Now after three months i can do 20. In 12 weeks I lost 7kg or 16 pounds. To put my loss into context, I was 11st2 and 170cms in height. After 12 weeks I was 10st, still 170cms in height of course, but had lost 13cms from my body overall. And then Christmas happened. 2013 has seen me yoyo back up to 10st 10 but a fitter leaner version, And then back down to 10st. After four and a half years of singledom I met the man of my dreams. And we all know what happens then. We eat and we drink and we get comfortable. We just got back from holiday. I ate bread... All the bread!!! I drank beer... By the gallon. But it's ok right...? I went to the gym once and cycled 14 miles another day, in blistering 30 degree heat. The scales and the clothes disagree. I am back at 10st10!!

So this is it... I decided I need to make myself answerable. Most importantly to myself, but i wont just be answerable to myself this time, or to my friends and family, (who I am sure are sick of seeing my before and after shots) but to the whole entire world. I will be clean eating, re doing seven day juice detoxes, following a hiit, weight training and running combined fitness programme. Having the odd cheat day of course and trying desperately to say no to my much beloved red vino. I hope you enjoy my journey. And I hope it inspires you! A far from normal, fun-loving girl from Liverpool, trying really hard this time, to get that washboard stomach. To discover what it is exactly, that makes me bloat to whale like size, after just one meal and to be the fittest I have ever been. I doubt there will be many dull moments. My life is unashamedly eventful... An adventure. I have four months till I go to South America!!! My aim... to become a healthier, happier, fitter, much leaner Shadow Of Myself...